Malaysian police were desperate to arrest Australian Dominic Bird

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IT TOOK police weeks before they were able to finalise an alleged drug deal with an Australian man now facing a possible death sentence in Malaysia.

Dominic Bird, from Perth, is expected to plead not guilty to two drug charges, related to his alleged offer to sell police a large quantity of methamphetamine, the most serious of which carries a mandatory death penalty.

Mr Bird was arrested in a police sting on March 1 at Old Town White Coffee, a cafe on Jalan Dang Wangi near his apartment in central Kuala Lumpur.

Police allege the 32-year-old agreed to sell them 250g of methamphetamine.

The drugs he allegedly supplied weighed 167 grams.

But it was revealed in the Kuala Lumpur High Court that police actually approached Mr Bird for the drugs, after allegedly receiving a tip-off from an informant.

The undercover officer who set up the sting also detailed to the court the lengths police went to make the bust, revealing Mr Bird was becoming suspicious in the days before his arrest.

Inspector Luther Nurjib told the court an informant had put him in contact with Mr Bird, after which he then met the Australian, who initially introduced himself as "Anton".

At the first meeting, at about midnight on February 16, Inspector Nurjib asked Mr Bird if he could supply him with 250 grams of the shabu (methamphetamine).

"I asked about the price for each girl (the name of a 50g package of drugs)," he told the court.

Insp Nurjib said the accused told him that each "girl" would cost RM12,000 ($3765).

The next day Mr Bird allegedly provided a 5g sample, referred to in court as a "set".

"He told me to try the sample and if it was good, to text him 'the girl is hot'".

"I sent him a text saying 'the girl is hot s***'."

Over the next two weeks, the two men exchanged a flurry of text messages as Insp Nurjib tried to convince Mr Bird to finalise the alleged deal.

He told the court Mr Bird had wanted to meet at his apartment, but each time the police officer refused, insisting they complete the transaction at Old Town White Coffee.

On the evening before his arrest, Mr Bird even sent a text saying: "I don't trust you because you always want to do the deal at Old Town White Coffee," Insp Nurjib told the court.

But the police persisted.

They were desperate to lure Mr Bird to the cafe, where undercover officers would be waiting.